Chapter 2

The two were silently crossing the lake when Christine asked, "Erik, why don't
you like Raoul?"

Erik mis-poled and flew off the boat, over and into the black water. If I stay quiet,
he thought, maybe she'll think I drowned. But he soon got tired of holding his breath and
had to come to the surface. A pair of dainty hands grabbed him and hauled him aboard.

"Erik! Stop fooling around! I'm trying to talk to you seriously and you go and
make a joke of it!" she pouted.

Erik stared at her in shock. She was stronger than he thought! He stood up, and
finished their trip across the lake in silence. He thought a moment and then decided.

"Christine, I think I'm going to take you back to your dressing room. Isn't it time
for rehearsal?" he lied..

"I don't think so. Why are you so eager to get rid of me, Erik? And what's with
you and this colloquialism?"

Mon dieu, that jackanapes is corrupting her! he thought worriedly. She's acting so
very different!

"Uh . . . Christine, dear, that's not the proper use of the word. And what would
make you think that? If you spend all of your time down here with me, people will start to
think you've disappeared."

She laughed and said, "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Erik! Raoul and I disappear all the
time, and people don't even talk anymore!"

Erik screamed in pain as soon as Raoul was mentioned. He picked up a huge stone
and heaved it as far as he could down a dark corridor. He heard a satisfying 'crunch', and
turned Christine down another path.

"Now Christine," he said brightly, "let's continue. As I was saying, I think it's
time for you to return to the sunlight."

Christine shrugged.

"Sure, but then I'll have to spend the afternoon with Raoul. We're having a picnic
today."

Erik just rolled his eyes, knowing he was going to spy on them.

"Well, dear, here we are."

He opened the mirror and closed it behind her. She waved 'goodbye' and opened
her dressing room door to admit Raoul. He smothered her with kisses as she pushed him
away.

"Christine, darling, I haven't seen you for an hour! I thought I was going to wilt
without you!" Raoul gushed.

Erik felt his stomach churn at the sight of Raoul and moaned, "Oh no, I think I'm
going to be sick . . ."

Raoul looked alarmed and exclaimed, "Christine, dear, are you well? Your voice
sounded quite different a minute ago!"

Christine gave Raoul a dirty look and said, "Don't be a dolt! It was 'him'!"

Raoul opened his mother to protest, but all they heard was a retching noise.
Christine paled and pushed Raoul farther away.

"Ew! Take that out in the hall! My room is clean!"

Afterwards, Erik felt a little better. Then he remembered it was his pay-day.

"Aha! Time to pay Messieurs Richard and Moncharmin a little visit . . ."

He was making his way through an ill-lit corridor when he ran into someone. It
was Joseph Buquet, and just his luck.

"Good lord!" shrieked the stage hand. "You wet piece of stinking offal!"

"Who are you calling a 'wet piece of stinking offal', you old fat drunkard?" Erik
yelled back. Before Buquet could react, Erik kicked him where it hurts and ran off down
the hall laughing wildly.

When he was alone, he sat down and caught his breath.

"What in the world is that smell?" he murmured, disgusted by it. "It smells like
someone . . ." he paused and then held his hand up to his mouth while breathing into it.
He sniffed.

"Holy mother of pearl!" he shrieked.

He made it as a mental note to brush his teeth as soon as possible.

He finally made it to the managers' office and peeked in the door. The room was
empty.
"Damn!" he muttered, and ran to check the auditorium. He spotted them making
their way to Box Five.

"They're going to snoop around in my box!" he yelled while rushing to the hollow
column to hide.

"I'm telling you, Richard, I saw a death's head in this box!" insisted the voice of
Moncharmin.

"Well all I saw was Mme. Giry's," remarked Richard's sceptical voice. "Now are
you satisfied? No one is here. Let's go and clean the office. Carlotta's contracts are
collecting dust."

Erik couldn't help but reply, "I'll be glad to burn them for you."

Though he couldn't see them, he imagined that Moncharmin was in Richard's
arms. They were both shrieking, anyhow, and Erik's presumption was right.

"It's the ghost!" exclaimed Moncharmin, clutching Richard around the neck.

"Oh get off me! There is no ghost!" Richard answered crabbily, though he had
just shrieked and was on the verge of wetting himself.

"Yes, messieurs, there is a ghost, and I am him. And you've forgotten you owe me
twenty-thousand francs," Erik snickered. he let his voice float around the box, then let it
whisper in Richard's ear, "You'd better pay me . . . or else."

"Or else what?" challenged Moncharmin, because Richard had wet himself with
fright.

"Or else you'll find out! Don't be a jackass and just pay me the damn
twenty-thousand francs!" Erik yelled.

Moncharmin cowered and Richard whispered, "What is that smell?"

"You! You're the one who needs to wear a diaper, good god!" exclaimed
Moncharmin.

"No! It smells like someone lost their lunch in here!"

Erik groaned and shouted, "Leave me or I'll do it again!"

The managers raced out of Box Five to their office to dig up twenty-thousand
francs so they wouldn't have to anger the vile smelling ghost.

Erik left Box Five and grinned.

"I love having them under my fist! I'm on a roll today . . . Let's see what
Carlotta's up to!"

He dashed off to Carlotta's dressing room, and peeked in the door. She was sitting
on the floor, eating a box of chocolates and licking each plump finger. He suddenly got a
bright idea. He knew Raoul insisted that Christine kept a box of liquered chocolates in her
dressing room, for who knows what reason.

He returned with the chocolates and debated how to get Carlotta out of the room.
He hid in a closet and threw his voice down the end of the hall.

"Moooooooo!"

He giggled at his genius when Carlotta thundered out down the hall exclaiming,
"Mummy! Papa! Iz zhat you? Did you bring moi any presents?"

He quickly exchanged the chocolates and returned to the closet just as he heard
Carlotta pout, "I could ave sworn I eard zhem . . ."

Erik peeked into Carlotta's dressing room to find that she had already devoured
every last chocolate, and had now started on the wrappers and box.

"Hmm. Zhey were good . . ." Carlotta slurred and stood up. Or tried to stand. Erik
was surprised that she got drunk so quickly. He made a mental note of that and continued
to giggle. He jumped out of the way when Carlotta crashed through the door, taking it off
its hinges.

"I must find zhose managers and speak wit zhem about my contract," she
announced and stumbled off down the hall.

Erik followed, eager to see what sort of panic might ensue.